Brush carrying device for cleaning articles of clothing



Mar h 7, 1951 v M. ZUCKER 2,546,288

BRUSH CARRYING DEVICE FOR CLEANING ARTICLES 0F CLOTHING Filed Sept. 15,1947 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 m r- N IIIIIII'IIIIIIIII:

IN V EN TOR.

ATTORNZIYS 7 March 27, 1951 ZUCKER BRUSH CARRYING DEVICE FOR CLEANINGARTICLES OF CLOTHING Filed Sept. 15, 1947 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR.A4516? ZZ/L'KER A77 QNZEYS Patented Mar. 27, 1951 r UNITED STATES PATENTOFFICE BRUSH CARRYING DEVICE FOR CLEANING- ARTICLES ()F CLOTHING MorrisZucker, East Orange, N. J. Application September 15, 1947, Serial No.774,009

2 Claims.

This invention relates to devices for cleaning articles of clothing suchas mens trousers.

It is an object of the instant invention to provide a cleaning device inwhich the labor element is comparatively slight.

Another object is to so form the device that it applies in one-operationthe physical and chemical requisites for cleaning.

Other objects will become apparent in the course of the followingspecification.

In the attainment of these objectives, the cleaning device is formed ofa housing surrounding a tank. In the tank are two brushes substantiallytangentially and rotatably supported. in bearings of special design. Thebearings are of. special design to provide a means for insertion andremoval of the brushes as, well as adjustment. Driving. belts overpulleys on one end of the brush rotors drive the brushes in oppositedirections' tangentially and inwardly toward. the interior or" thetankwhich facilitates the cleaning operation and provides substantiallytrouble free operation. Perforated pipes attached below the brushesalong the inside surface portions. of the v tank direct a cleaningfluid, such as soap and water; under pressure against the brush bristlesand the garment. The used cleaning liquid is then carried to. the bottomof the tank where, a false. bottom inclined between the tank ends coactswith an outlet pipe for draining. A motor for driving the brush membersis adjustabl y mounted in one end of the housing. A longitudinal slot inthe cover of the housing above the brush members provides a means forinserting the-garment-and swishing it up and down between the brushmembers. Downwardly extending members around the periphery of theslotcoacting with upwardly extending and outwardly flaring opposing sidemembers of the tank sub stantially confine the cleaning liquid withinthe; tank.

The invention will appear more clearly when taken in connection with theaccompanying drawings showin by way of example preferred embodiment ofthe inventive idea.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a top plan view of the cleaning device with cover brokenaway constructed in accord ance with the principles of this. invention.

Figure 2 is a sectional view along the line 2-2j of Figure. 1.

Figure 3 is an end view with part of the housing broken away.

Figure 4 is a perspective view of the cleaning device shown in- F-igure1.

Figure 5 is a sectional view along the line 5-5 of Figure 4.

Figure 6 is a fragmentary sectional view along the line 5-5 of Figure 1.

Referring now in greater detail to the drawings in which like referencenumerals indicate like parts, reference numeral It indicates thehousing, H the tank, l2 and l3 the brushes, 4 the motor and IS theperforated pipe.

The housing Ill comprises the opposing side members it and I1 (Figs. 3and 5.) opposing end members i8 and [9 (Fig. 2) base 28, and hingedlymounted cover 2! (Figs. 3, 4, and 5) The hingedly mounted cover member2| (Figs. 3, 4, and 5) of arcuate form as shown is provided with thelongitudinal slot 22 (Figs. 4 and 5) along the periphery of which aredisposed the downwardly inclined members 23, 24, 25, and 25 (Fig. 4)which provide a tunnel like opening to the brushes l2 and [3 for theintroduction of the garment to be cleaned. Any suitable hinge mountmeans2? (Fig. 3) may be used to attach the cover 21' along the top edge ofthe opposing side member I! while along the top edge of the opposingside member E8, the latch members 28 co-act with the retaining members29 on the cover member 21 to removably secure said cover in position.

The tank I l comprises the opposing side members 30 and 3| (Figs. 3 and5), the opposing end members 32 and 33 (Fig. 2), the base 34 and opentop. At the bottom of the tank H, the base member 34, reallyconstituting a false bottom, inclined toward the opposing end member 33downwardly substantially to the base thereof. At the low point above thebase 34, the outlet pipe 35 (Fig. 2'), provided with the shut-01f valve36, is inserted to drain off the contents of the tank H when desired.Theopposing side mem bars 30 and 3! flare upwardly and outwardly at thetop into the cover member 2| in closed position in order to confine thesubsequently described cleaning liquid within said tank.

At the top of the tank H are two rotatably mounted brush members l2, andi3 which comprise thebristles 3-1 (Figs. 1 and 6) inserted in therotors33 and 39.

Bearing members 46 and 4% adapted for longitudinal adjustment of brushrotors 38 and 39 are inserted in the opposing end member 32 of the tankll by any suitable means and comprise the bearing support 42 (Fig. 6),the rotatable bearing d3 at the extreme end of which are keyed thepulleys 44 and 45. In the center of each of the rotatable bearingmembers 43 (Fig. 6-) is a circular aperture 46 of substantially the samediameter as the end of the brush rotors adapted to be inserted therein.At the front, the aperture 56 is of smaller diameter than at the back asshown in Figure 6. A keyway 4i extends longitudinally through theaperture of smaller diameter, which provides angular velocity to thebrush rotors 35 and 39 when the key 48 is inserted in said rotors and,protruding thereabove, is inserted into said keyway 51. The spiralspring 49, inserted between the flanges 58 on the rotors of the brushmembers and the inside surface portion of the bearing members 56 and 4!,provides a means for retaining the brush members l2 and H3 in positionunless suflicient longitudinal force is applied to the rotor to forcethe key 43 out of the keyway 3'! into the aperture of largest diameter.

At the opposite end of the rotor 33% the usual type bearing member 56 isinserted in the end member The rotor 38, on the other hand, while havingthe usual type bearing member 59 has it mounted in a pivotallyadjustable plate (Fig. 3). The pivot pin 52 in the opposing end member33 thus permits moving the brush rotor 33 toward or away from the brushrotor 33 and may be locked in place with the nut 53 over a co-actingstud in opposing end member 33 adapted to move in a slot 53 in thepivotally mounted plate 55.

In the base of the housing it! (Fig. 3) is the adjustably mounted motori l for driving the rotors 38 and 39. The adjustable mounting means forthe motor Hi, essential for the adjustment of the subsequently describedbelts 5d and 55, comprises the base 55 hingedly mounted by any suitablemeans along one edge to the horizontal member of the bracket 51!attached to the inside surface portion of the opposing side member iiiof the housing to. To the opposite end of the base 55, the uprightmember 5? is pivotally attached by any suitable means. The top of theupright member 5? is threaded and adapted to be inserted through anaperture in the horizontal member of the bracket 58 attached to theopposite opposing side member ii. A nut 59 screwed on the threaded endof the upright member 59 against the top surface portion of thehorizontal member of the bracket 58 provides a means for moving themotor iii and varying the tension of the subsequently described drivingbelts 54 and 55.

- Driving pulleys es and iii (Fig. 2) are keyed to the shaft of themotor M and the driving belts 54 and 55 (Fig. 3) are inserted thereoverand over the pulleys M and 45 keyed to the shafts of the rotors 38 and33. By crossing the driving belt 54 in the manner shown in Figure 3, thebrush rotors 38 and $9 rotate in opposite directions inwardly at thepoint of tangency.

The perforated pipe I5 is extended along the inside surface portion ofthe opposing side memer 35 of the tank ii, thence along the opposing endmember 32, and finally along the opposing side member 35. Perforations62 in pipe l5 directed toward the brush bristles 3'! provide a sprayingmeans for directing cleaning fluid under pressure thereagainst undercontrol of shut-off valve 63.

The operation is as follows:

The motor it is started which revolves the brush rotors 38 and 3G in themanner previously described. The cover it or" the housing it! is closedand secured by the fasteners 28. The shutoff valve 63 is opened topermit the cleaning liquid to fill the pipe [5 and finally to be forcedthrough the perforations 52 against the bristles 3i of the brush members12 and IS. The garment is then inserted through the longitudinal slot 22between the downwardly revolving brush members I2 and I3 and swished upand down therebetween. The used cleaning fluid falls to the bottom ofthe tank I l where it collects to be drawn off through the outlet 35under control of the shut-01f valve 36.

It is apparent that the specific illustrations shown above have beengiven by way of illustration and not by way of limitation and that thestructures above described are subject to wide variation andmodification without departing from the scope 0r intent of theinvention, all of which variations and modifications are to be includedwithin the scope of the present invention.

What is claimed is:

1. A device for cleaning articles of clothing and the like comprising ahousing; the housing comprising opposed end members, the upper edges ofsaid end members being of upwardly directed arcuate form, opposed sidemembers, a base member, said members being secured along correspondingedges, a cover member hingedly disposed along the upper edge of one ofthe opposed members, the cover member being of arcuate cross section andadapted to coact with the upper edges of the opposed members and havinga 1onitudinal slot formed therein substantially along the longitudinalcenter line thereof; the device further comprising a tank with open topdisposed in the housing, the tank comprising opposed end members,opposed side members, and a base member, said members being securedalong corresponding edges and in spaced relationship with correspondingmembers of the housing, the upper portions of the opposed members of thetank flaring upwardly and outwardly in the cover member of the housingwhen in the closed position; the device further comprising twocylindrical brushes rotatably disposed in the opposed end members of thetank, the brushes making longi tudinal contact with each other along thecenter line of the slot in the cover member when closed andsubstantially below the same, means rotating one end of the axis of onebrush relative to the other, means rotating said brushes inwardly intothe tank along the line of contact of said brushes, means applyingcleanin fluid against the brushes, and means removing the spent cleaningfluid from the tank.

2. In a device for cleaning articles or" clothing and the like, thedevice having a tank with opposed end members and two cylindricalbrushes, each brush having a rotor; a rotatable mounting means for thebrush rotors comprising a bearing support for one end of each brushrotor disposed in one end of the tank, a bearing disposed on one end ofeach brush rotor and adapted to rotate in said bearing support, meansmaintaining said bearings in said bearing supports; the rotatablemounting means further comprising a bearing support for the free ends ofeach brush rotor disposed in the opposite end of the tank, said bearingsupports being adapted to maintain the brushes in longitudinal contact,a bearing for the free end of each brush rotor and adapted to rotate inthe bearing support for the free ends of the brush rotors, two of saidbearings having a central opening constricted on the side toward thebrush and a longitudinal keyway along the constricted portion, a keydisposed on the free MORRIS ZUCKER.

6 REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 136,474 Watson Mar. 4, 18731,180,306 McQuay Apr. 25, 1916 1,503,? 19 Stelter Aug. 4, 1924 101,880,887 Dittmar Oct. 4, 1932 2,311,066 Meyers Feb. 16, 1943

